I am in a race to retire before becoming too old to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. Could it happen soon? Preparations are being made even now. If everything falls into place, it will be transformative in a very unique way. I will literally step onto the pages of my book and become one of its characters. The sights, sounds and smells of the forest, the strange company I keep and the experience of letting go will all become words and sentences in the 2nd book of my trilogy. My reasons for hiking are not unlike the diverse characters in my 1st book. One seeks redemption, one flees for safety, one searches for lost love while others wage moral war. They all, however, have one thing in common: A renunciation of self. Stepping foot onto the trail, they begin a journey toward to a place that they already are. Mysteriously, they never return to the time and place they left. There is no arrival or departure. No here or there. Just being.